October Member of the Month!

Alec Abbate from Tolland High School is the first ever

CT DECA Member of the Month! He did an amazing job starting up his new chapter at

Toland High School and he continues to

STRIVE2THRIVE!

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Team 60 would like to introduce a new idea that could help YOU this year. It is entitled the “DECA Member of the Month.” Each month, the State Officer Team, along with the state advisor and business professionals, will be selecting a candidate to be chosen as our Member of the Month for the state of Connecticut. The guidelines for the competition require the candidate to be a national DECA member, include a letter of recommendation from their chapter advisor and include a headshot to be used for recognition. Students may be nominated as many times as they want, however, a student may only win the award one time. Of course, such a prestigious award comes with a great reward as well! Each “Member of the Month” winner will receive a specialized plaque, recognition on the www.ctdeca.org website, the CT DECA Facebook account, the State Officer’s blogs and also a $50.00 cash

prize! The plaque and cash prize will be awarded at the State Career Development Conference in February.  Applications must be submitted by the second Wednesday of each month in order for an applicant to be considered. Guidelines are available at our website, www.ctdeca.org under  “Downloads & Resources”. Applicants should be very involved in their local DECA chapters and their hard work should be highlighted by positive contributions they have made this year. Nominees will be judged on their involvement, contributions, leadership within chapter and their ability to reflect the values that DECA stands for: Academically Prepared, Community Oriented, Experienced Leader and Professionally Responsible. Connecticut DECA’s November winner was Alec Abbate of the newly formed Tolland Chapter.

CT DECA Member of the Month!!WHO WILL THRIVE TO BE THE NEXT ONE?

P R E P A R I N G E M E R G I N G L E A D E R S A N D E N T R E P R E N E U R S

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Fall Leadership Conference Wrap up!

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Interested in Running for State Office?

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Helping MDA with The Movement!

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NOVEMBER Newsletter

By Tucker LewisHistorian

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Fall Leadership Conference Wrap-Up!The Annual Fall Leadership Conference was once again held in October at the Aqua Turf

in Southington, CT. It was organized this year by Scott J. Farrell of Positively Speaking LLC.  Connecticut DECA members had a chance to partake in the Leadership Mentor Experience and got to hear from people including an aid to a Senator Blumenthal to the author of a book about leadership. These wonderful speakers shared information about their careers and how they got to where they are today as leaders. Linda McCaffery of McCaffery Professionals was a speaker that day who discussed how to speak as a leader. Students learned the valuable lessons of how to capture an audience and lead effectively.

Members were also given the opportunity to gain important knowledge about increasing membership for their own chapters, conducted by Mr. Farrell and myself in the Leading Membership Growth workshop. Here members were challenged to complete the national membership campaign and received a refresher on exactly who is eligible to become a member. Personally, I had so much fun speaking to those who attended and being able to hear about their passion for DECA.

Not only did members gain knowledge to become better leaders but those who attended were able to raise nearly $320 for MDA during the Miracle Minute. That was a crazy sixty second dash where the State Officers ran around to collect donations for this awesome charity.

An important part of this year’s conference was the nomination of State President, Nicholas DiNardo to run for North Atlantic Region Vice President at the 2012-2013 International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California. He was nominated by Danbury Chapter Vice President Anastasia Giannakakos during the luncheon/business session of this conference. Connecticut DECA wishes him in the best of luck in running this coming spring.

This year Connecticut DECA was able to have a former Southington High School DECA member and current North Atlantic Region Vice President, Emily Socha as the keynote speaker. She shared an inspiring message about thriving as DECA members in all that we do. She and the State Officer Team enjoyed networking and getting to know chapters from all across the state throughout the day. Overall the 60th Fall Leadership Conference was a huge success.

By Madeline HuberVice-President

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The importance of being involved in

community service!

By Hunter FarberSecretary

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This year, more then ever it is the goal of Connecticut DECA and the state officer team is to become more active in our communities. This can mean individual members helping others or entire chapters getting involved.  Activities such as food and clothing drives, toy drives, or even working at a local soup kitchen can make a huge difference in your community. Chapter community service could mean joining “The Movement” and raising money for MDA.  Connecticut DECA also encourages chapters to support their own charities; this can entail supporting organizations such as:

The Special Olympics, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, or The American Red Cross, just to name a few.  In order to raise money or support these charities a chapter can undertake such activities as a blood drive for the Red Cross or even a charity-sporting event to raise money for almost any organization.  Although donating money to a charity can be helpful for any organization it can be equally satisfying and caring to perform volunteer work. This can mean working in places such as Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Foundation, a summer camp for seriously ill children, or even volunteering in a hospital or senior center to help others in need.  With so many different opportunities for community service, both Connecticut and national DECA believe that community service is an important aspect of being a DECA

member and a good member of society. This year we challenge every member and their chapters to go above and beyond “what has been the norm” for their communities and fellow man-kind. As the Greek fabulist Aesop once wrote, “ No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

#CommunityService

THE MOVEMENT: RAISING THE BAR FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE.

By Olivia CuccaroTreasurer

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The Connecticut DECA officers are pleased to announce that we have raised over $400.00 between the Miracle Minute at the Fall leadership Conference and the Bowling Day for the Muscular Dystrophy Association! This is a great accomplishment and the officer team thanks everyone who contributed to our success! With each completed event, we make a step towards reaching our overall goal for the MDA.The next step in the Movement is simple: register your chapter at www.OURMVMT.com. This is a DECA run website that will allow your chapter to receive updates on the Movement for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In addition to this, your chapter will be supporting our own, Emily Socha, the North Atlantic Regional Vice

President. She has made it her goal to have as many chapters as possible join in the Movement and make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. It is incredibly simple and does not require that you make any financial donations. The only information needed is your name, chapter, email, advisor name and email address. Logging on with Facebook is also necessary in order to track your chapter’s progress; your account information is not accessible by the website or any outside force. It also helps the National Officer Team stay in touch with the chapters across the country and  determine who is going the extra mile to support the MDA. Get your chapter involved and inspire others to join in! Of course, if your chapter does want to undertake a project to raise monies for MDA, that would be greatly appreciated by everyone involved.Remember to remain active in your chapters and continue being community oriented! You never know how much of an impact you can make, even with a few words of encouragement.  

#TheMovement

So you want to be the nextConnecticut DECA State Officer?

“As Connecticut’s State Officer Team it is our mission to encourage teamwork and cooperation within all members by showing our dedication through a commitment to leadership and to have a positive outlook and pride in DECA in order to strengthen communication and awareness.  By reaching these goals

we strive to inform others of the connection between DECA and marketing education.”

This statement serves as a basis for anyone interested in being a Connecticut DECA State Officer. It is the role of a State Officer to ensure the success of his/her chapters, the members and Connecticut DECA. In Connecticut, there are six positions on the State Executive Council, President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian, and last but not least, the Reporter. All six positions are crucial for the success of Connecticut DECA.

There are many reasons why someone should run for a DECA State Officer position. If you are a person who wants to make a difference in this organization, ensure its success, and just has plain “DECALove!” , then maybe running for CT DECA State Office is right for you! The feeling of knowing that you are an essential leader to an organization such as CT DECA is filled with joy and satisfaction! If elected, you we will be part of making decisions that will affect the members through out the state and ensure them a successful year in CT DECA.

The road to becoming the next state officer starts now! Get involved in your chapter and in DECA as much as possible! The more you are involved, the more experience you will have when you are running for state office! Experience is a major factor when choosing the next state officer! In addition, get involved in any state events or activities that are out there! Check out Connecticut DECA on Facebook, Twitter and ww.ctdeca.org, because the more you are seen by the current team and State Advisor, the more likely you will be remembered during the selection process! Next, study up on your CT DECA facts! The first part of the State Officer selection process, is a CT DECA test, with questions about national and Connecticut DECA. A study guide is provided prior to the test, so don't worry too much!

The second part of the selection process is an interview with a selection committee, made up of the current State Officers, the State Advisor, and business professionals from across the state. This is where you can show your interview skills and impress the people who will choose the new team. And finally, the speech and caucus! During the State Career Development Conference, you will caucus and give a speech to the voting delegates to prove to them why they should vote for you. With all three components of this process taken into consideration, the new team is selected! So, if you have the will and passion for DECA, and are looking to take your involvement in CT DECA to the next level, then run for CT DECA State Office! Good luck to all those who want to take the challenge to be the next Connecticut DECA

State Officer and remember to always STRIVE2THRIVE!

By Nicholas DiNardoPresident

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members and the community. On that Saturday, we all had a great time and even better than that, we all supported a powerful cause.

Fundraising, bowling, networking, snacking, and a little bit of healthy competition. These are all key factors that helped us raise $112.00 that will be added to our association's annual donation to MDA. Not too bad for a hang out day with your fellow DECA members!

Plans are in place to keep the movement alive throughout the 2012-2013 school year. There will be more CT DECA Bowling Days in the future and we can keep the FUNdraising going!

Keep an eye out for  an upcoming CT DECA Bowling Day in the greater Danbury area in mid January and get out there: network, strike it up, and make a muscle for MDA!

Make a muscle—its bowling time!

A CT DECA Bowling Day was sponsored by the State Officer team on November 10, 2012 at the Wallingford Bowl.   We joined together as officers and members of CT DECA in an effort to raise funds for our state's official  charity, the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Maloney High School's DECA chapter advisor, Mr. Aresco scored a strike or spare nearly every time he was up, putting the rest of the members to shame! Needless to say, everyone was inspired to step up their game even if they lacked the expertise of some of the bowlers.  Among the State Officer team, competition was eminent as we worked to get strikes while others fought  just not get a gutter ball! Local chapters Maloney and Lyman Hall all brought their best to each frame while networking with other members and enjoying the fun afternoon.Though the competition was high, the meaning of our presence there was of the most significance that day. It is important that each DECA member strive to always be a great leader and be one who supports the

Connecticut DECA

@ConnecticutDECA

www.ctdeca.org

CT DECA MDA Bowling Day!

Connect with CONNECTicut DECA!

By Sydney KrewsonReporter

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STRIKING DOWN MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY AND SPARING A LIFE!